US20230363834A1 - Real-time instrument position identification and tracking - Google Patents

Abstract

A surgical robotic system includes a first robotic arm configured to hold a camera access port and an endoscopic camera inserted therethrough. The system also includes a plurality of secondary robotic arms each of which is configured to hold an instrument access port of a plurality of instrument access ports and a surgical instrument of a plurality of surgical instruments, each of which is configured to be inserted into one instrument access port of the plurality of instrument access ports. The system further includes a plurality of beacons. One beacon of the plurality of beacons is disposed on the camera access port and one beacon of the remaining plurality of beacons is disposed on one instrument access port of the plurality of instrument access ports. Each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to wirelessly communicate with each other. The system additionally includes a controller configured to determine a position of the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments based on wireless communication between the beacons.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/340,568 filed May 11, 2022. The entire disclosure of the foregoing application is incorporated by referenced herein.
BACKGROUND
• Surgical robotic systems may include a surgeon console controlling one or more surgical robotic arms, each including a surgical instrument having an end effector (e.g., forceps or grasping instrument). In operation, the robotic arm is moved to a position over a patient and the surgical instrument is guided into a small incision via a surgical access port or a natural orifice of a patient to position the end effector at a work site within the patient's body. The surgeon console includes hand controllers which translate user input into movement of the surgical instrument and/or end effector.
• In robotic surgery, a surgeon may use multiple (e.g., up to four) instruments at a time, with one being a robotic endoscopic camera, two actively used instruments assigned to left- and right-hand controllers, and a reserve instrument. The general practice during endoscopic and robotic surgical procedures is to move the instruments in tandem with the camera to keep the instruments within a field of vision (FOV) of the camera. However, such tandem motion is not always possible, and the user needs to know real-time position of all instruments relative to the moving FOV. Thus, there is a need to provide real-time status of the instruments including those that are outside the FOV.
SUMMARY
• The present disclosure provides a system and method for tracking instruments using sensors disposed on access ports to locate the instruments in real-time. A primary beacon may be disposed on an access port used by an endoscopic camera since the camera is the first instrument that is inserted into the patient. The beacon may be any suitable wireless transceiver configured to emit and receive wireless, e.g., radiofrequency, signals. The access port may have a mechanism that is engaged by insertion of the camera or an instrument into the access port. The mechanism may then activate the beacon. After insertion of the first access port, the patient is insufflated, and pneumoperitoneum is established. Thereafter, the remaining access ports are inserted along with corresponding instruments, thereby activating the beacons.
• Beacons may be tracked by using any suitable tracking technique, such as triangulation or trilateration using distance and bearing information obtained from beacon transmissions. In particular, trilateration may be used to determine real-time distance of instrument beacons relative to FOV and triangulation may be used to calculate spatial angles and positions of instrument beacons.
• The instruments and the endoscopic camera may be visualized as a graphical representation of the abdominal dome with the instrument position being projected in several views. The graphical representation may be displayed on any of the displays of the robotic system, e.g., control tower, surgeon console, etc. The graphical representation may be updated in real-time as the instrument(s) and the camera are moved. The positioning and angles may be communicated through port and arm connection through a wireless connection. Thus, as an instrument is withdrawn, the corresponding beacon is deactivated, and the graphical representation is updated to remove a virtual instrument. Audio and/or visual alerts may be issued by the robotic system when instruments outside the FOV are moving or touching specific anatomy. Furthermore, zones may be designated by the surgeon during the procedure using the graphical representation.
• The disclosed tracking system makes the surgery safer for the patient and provides a 360-degree awareness inside the surgical site. The safety system also streamlines the surgery by allowing for troubleshooting of the intracorporeal instrument collisions. In addition, pre-operative imaging, e.g., CT scans, may be used along with graphical representations to enable for better visualization of the surgical site.
• According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a surgical robotic system is disclosed. The surgical robotic system includes a first robotic arm configured to hold a camera access port and an endoscopic camera inserted therethrough. The system also includes a plurality of secondary robotic arms each of which is configured to hold an instrument access port of a plurality of instrument access ports and a surgical instrument of a plurality of surgical instruments, each of which is configured to be inserted into one instrument access port of the plurality of instrument access ports. The system further includes a plurality of beacons. One beacon of the plurality of beacons is disposed on the camera access port and one beacon of the remaining plurality of beacons is disposed on one instrument access port of the plurality of instrument access ports. Each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to wirelessly communicate with each other. The system additionally includes a controller configured to determine a position of the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments based on wireless communication between the beacons.
• Implementations of the above embodiment may include one or more of the following features. According to one aspect of the above embodiment, the surgical robotic system may also include a display configured to show a graphical representation including the position of the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments. The graphical representation may include a three-dimensional model of a surgical site and models of the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments. The display may be further configured to show a cone representing a field of view of the endoscopic camera. The graphical representation may include a two-dimensional map of a surgical site and symbols representing the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments. The display may be further configured to show a circle representing a field of view of the endoscopic camera. The display may be also configured to display a video feed of a field of view of the endoscopic camera and a representation of at least one of direction or distance of a surgical instrument of the plurality of surgical instruments located outside the field of view.
• According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a surgical robotic system is disclosed. The surgical robotic system includes a plurality of access ports and a plurality of surgical devices, each of which is configured to be inserted into one access port of the plurality of access ports. The system also includes a plurality of beacons, each of which is disposed on one access port of the plurality of access ports. Each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to wirelessly communicate with each other. The system further includes a controller configured to determine a position of each surgical device of the plurality of surgical devices based on wireless communication between the beacons.
• Implementations of the above embodiment may include one or more of the following features. According to one aspect of the above embodiment, the surgical robotic system may include a display configured to show a graphical representation having the position of each surgical device. The graphical representation may include a three-dimensional model of a surgical site and models of the plurality of surgical devices. The graphical representation may also include a two-dimensional map of a surgical site and symbols representing of the plurality of surgical devices. The plurality of surgical devices may include at least one endoscopic camera. The plurality of surgical devices may include a plurality of surgical instruments. Each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to obtain at least one parameter of the wireless communication. The parameter of the wireless communication may include at least one of time of flight or angle of arrival measurements. The controller may be further configured to determine the position of each surgical device of the plurality of surgical devices using at least one trilateration or triangulation based on the parameter of the wireless communication.
• According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for tacking position of surgical robotic instruments is disclosed. The method may include activating a plurality of beacons, each of which is disposed on one access port of a plurality of access ports. Each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to wirelessly communicate with each other. The method also includes determining a position of each surgical device of a plurality of surgical devices each of which is inserted into one access port of the plurality of access ports based on wireless communication between the beacons. The method further includes displaying a graphical representation having the position of each surgical device.
• Implementations of the above embodiment may include one or more of the following features. According to one aspect of the above embodiment, the method further includes displaying at least one of a three-dimensional model of a surgical site and models of the plurality of surgical devices or a two-dimensional map of a surgical site and symbols representing of the plurality of surgical devices. The parameter of the wireless communication may include at least one of time of flight or angle of arrival measurements. The method may further include determining the position of each surgical device of the plurality of surgical devices using at least one trilateration or triangulation based on the parameter of the wireless communication.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to the drawings wherein:
• FIG.1 is a perspective view of a surgical robotic system including a control tower, a console, and one or more surgical robotic arms each disposed on a mobile cart according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.2 is a perspective view of a surgical robotic arm of the surgical robotic system ofFIG.1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.3 is a perspective view of a mobile cart having a setup arm with the surgical robotic arm of the surgical robotic system ofFIG.1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.4 is a schematic diagram of a computer architecture of the surgical robotic system ofFIG.1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.5 is a plan schematic view of movable carts ofFIG.1 positioned about a surgical table according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.6 is a flow chart of a method of using an instrument positional tracking according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.7 is a schematic diagram of an endoscopic camera inserted into a patient and a display showing a first display region and a second display region according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.8 is a side view of an access port in an inactive configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.9 is a side view of the access port in an active configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
• FIG.10 is a side schematic view of the endoscopic camera, a first access port and a second access port in an active configuration, and a third access port in an inactive configuration and the display showing graphical representations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
• FIG.11 is a side schematic view of the endoscopic camera and three access ports in an active configuration inserted into the patient and the display showing the graphical representations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• Embodiments of the presently disclosed surgical robotic system are described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. As used herein the term “proximal” refers to the portion of the surgical robotic system and/or the surgical instrument coupled thereto that is closer to a base of a robot, while the term “distal” refers to the portion that is farther from the base of the robot.
• As will be described in detail below, the present disclosure is directed to a surgical robotic system, which includes a surgeon console, a control tower, and one or more mobile carts having a surgical robotic arm coupled to a setup arm. The surgeon console receives user input through one or more interface devices, which are interpreted by the control tower as movement commands for moving the surgical robotic arm. The surgical robotic arm includes a controller, which is configured to process the movement command and to generate a torque command for activating one or more actuators of the robotic arm, which would, in turn, move the robotic arm in response to the movement command.
• With reference toFIG.1, a surgicalrobotic system10 includes acontrol tower20, which is connected to all of the components of the surgicalrobotic system10 including asurgeon console30 and one or moremovable carts60. Each of themovable carts60 includes arobotic arm40 having asurgical instrument50 removably coupled thereto. Therobotic arms40 also couple to themovable cart60. Therobotic system10 may include any number ofmovable carts60 and/orrobotic arms40.
• Thesurgical instrument50 is configured for use during minimally invasive surgical procedures. In embodiments, thesurgical instrument50 may be configured for open surgical procedures. In embodiments, thesurgical instrument50 may be an endoscope, such as anendoscopic camera51, configured to provide a video feed for the user. In further embodiments, thesurgical instrument50 may be an electrosurgical forceps configured to seal tissue by compressing tissue between jaw members and applying electrosurgical current thereto. In yet further embodiments, thesurgical instrument50 may be a surgical stapler including a pair of jaws configured to grasp and clamp tissue while deploying a plurality of tissue fasteners, e.g., staples, and cutting stapled tissue.
• One of therobotic arms40 may include theendoscopic camera51 configured to capture video of the surgical site. Theendoscopic camera51 may be a stereoscopic endoscope configured to capture two side-by-side (i.e., left and right) images of the surgical site to produce a video stream of the surgical scene. Theendoscopic camera51 is coupled to avideo processing device56, which may be disposed within thecontrol tower20. Thevideo processing device56 may be any computing device as described below configured to receive the video feed from theendoscopic camera51 and output the processed video stream.
• Thesurgeon console30 includes afirst display32, which displays a video feed of the surgical site provided bycamera51 of thesurgical instrument50 disposed on therobotic arm40, and asecond display34, which displays a user interface for controlling the surgicalrobotic system10. The first andsecond displays32 and34 are touchscreens allowing for displaying various graphical user inputs.
• Thesurgeon console30 also includes a plurality of user interface devices, such asfoot pedals36 and a pair ofhandle controllers38aand38bwhich are used by a user to remotely controlrobotic arms40. The surgeon console further includes an armrest33 used to support clinician's arms while operating thehandle controllers38aand38b.
• Thecontrol tower20 includes adisplay23, which may be a touchscreen, and outputs on the graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Thecontrol tower20 also acts as an interface between thesurgeon console30 and one or morerobotic arms40. In particular, thecontrol tower20 is configured to control therobotic arms40, such as to move therobotic arms40 and the correspondingsurgical instrument50, based on a set of programmable instructions and/or input commands from thesurgeon console30, in such a way thatrobotic arms40 and thesurgical instrument50 execute a desired movement sequence in response to input from thefoot pedals36 and thehandle controllers38aand38b.
• Each of thecontrol tower20, thesurgeon console30, and therobotic arm40 includes arespective computer21,31,41. Thecomputers21,31,41 are interconnected to each other using any suitable communication network based on wired or wireless communication protocols. The term “network,” whether plural or singular, as used herein, denotes a data network, including, but not limited to, the Internet, Intranet, a wide area network, or a local area network, and without limitation as to the full scope of the definition of communication networks as encompassed by the present disclosure. Suitable protocols include, but are not limited to, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), datagram protocol/internet protocol (UDP/IP), and/or datagram congestion control protocol (DCCP). Wireless communication may be achieved via one or more wireless configurations, e.g., radio frequency, optical, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances, using short length radio waves, from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs), ZigBee® (a specification for a suite of high level communication protocols using small, low-power digital radios based on the IEEE 122.15.4-1203 standard for wireless personal area networks (WPANs)).
• Thecomputers21,31,41 may include any suitable processor (not shown) operably connected to a memory (not shown), which may include one or more of volatile, non-volatile, magnetic, optical, or electrical media, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), electrically-erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), or flash memory. The processor may be any suitable processor (e.g., control circuit) adapted to perform the operations, calculations, and/or set of instructions described in the present disclosure including, but not limited to, a hardware processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, and combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the processor may be substituted for by using any logic processor (e.g., control circuit) adapted to execute algorithms, calculations, and/or set of instructions described herein.
• With reference toFIG.2, each of therobotic arms40 may include a plurality oflinks42a,42b,42c, which are interconnected atjoints44a,44b,44c, respectively. Other configurations of links and joints may be utilized as known by those skilled in the art. The joint44ais configured to secure therobotic arm40 to themobile cart60 and defines a first longitudinal axis. With reference toFIG.3, themobile cart60 includes alift67 and asetup arm61, which provides a base for mounting of therobotic arm40. Thelift67 allows for vertical movement of thesetup arm61. Themobile cart60 also includes adisplay69 for displaying information pertaining to therobotic arm40. In embodiments, therobotic arm40 may include any type and/or number of joints.
• Thesetup arm61 includes afirst link62a, asecond link62b, and athird link62c, which provide for lateral maneuverability of therobotic arm40. Thelinks62a,62b,62care interconnected atjoints63aand63b, each of which may include an actuator (not shown) for rotating thelinks62band62brelative to each other and thelink62c. In particular, thelinks62a,62b,62care movable in their corresponding lateral planes that are parallel to each other, thereby allowing for extension of therobotic arm40 relative to the patient (e.g., surgical table). In embodiments, therobotic arm40 may be coupled to the surgical table (not shown). Thesetup arm61 includescontrols65 for adjusting movement of thelinks62a,62b,62cas well as thelift67. In embodiments, thesetup arm61 may include any type and/or number of joints.
• Thethird link62cmay include arotatable base64 having two degrees of freedom. In particular, therotatable base64 includes afirst actuator64aand asecond actuator64b. Thefirst actuator64ais rotatable about a first stationary arm axis which is perpendicular to a plane defined by thethird link62cand thesecond actuator64bis rotatable about a second stationary arm axis which is transverse to the first stationary arm axis. The first andsecond actuators64aand64ballow for full three-dimensional orientation of therobotic arm40.
• Theactuator48bof the joint44bis coupled to the joint44cvia thebelt45a, and the joint44cis in turn coupled to the joint46bvia thebelt45b. Joint44cmay include a transfer case coupling thebelts45aand45b, such that theactuator48bis configured to rotate each of thelinks42b,42cand aholder46 relative to each other. More specifically, links42b,42c, and theholder46 are passively coupled to theactuator48bwhich enforces rotation about a pivot point “P” which lies at an intersection of the first axis defined by thelink42aand the second axis defined by theholder46. In other words, the pivot point “P” is a remote center of motion (RCM) for therobotic arm40. Thus, theactuator48bcontrols the angle θ between the first and second axes allowing for orientation of thesurgical instrument50. Due to the interlinking of thelinks42a,42b,42c, and theholder46 via thebelts45aand45b, the angles between thelinks42a,42b,42c, and theholder46 are also adjusted in order to achieve the desired angle θ. In embodiments, some or all of thejoints44a,44b,44cmay include an actuator to obviate the need for mechanical linkages.
• Thejoints44aand44binclude an actuator48aand48bconfigured to drive thejoints44a,44b,44crelative to each other through a series ofbelts45aand45bor other mechanical linkages such as a drive rod, a cable, or a lever and the like. In particular, the actuator48ais configured to rotate therobotic arm40 about a longitudinal axis defined by thelink42a.
• With reference toFIG.2, theholder46 defines a second longitudinal axis and configured to receive an instrument drive unit (IDU)52 (FIG.1). TheIDU52 is configured to couple to an actuation mechanism of thesurgical instrument50 and thecamera51 and is configured to move (e.g., rotate) and actuate theinstrument50 and/or thecamera51.IDU52 transfers actuation forces from its actuators to thesurgical instrument50 to actuate components (e.g., end effector) of thesurgical instrument50. Theholder46 includes a slidingmechanism46a, which is configured to move theIDU52 along the second longitudinal axis defined by theholder46. Theholder46 also includes a joint46b, which rotates theholder46 relative to thelink42c. During endoscopic procedures, theinstrument50 may be inserted through an endoscopic access port55 (FIG.3) held by theholder46. Theholder46 also includes aport latch46cfor securing theaccess port55 to the holder46 (FIG.2).
• Therobotic arm40 also includes a plurality of manual override buttons53 (FIG.1) disposed on theIDU52 and thesetup arm61, which may be used in a manual mode. The user may press one or more of the buttons53 to move the component associated with the button53.
• With reference toFIG.4, each of thecomputers21,31,41 of the surgicalrobotic system10 may include a plurality of controllers, which may be embodied in hardware and/or software. Thecomputer21 of thecontrol tower20 includes acontroller21aandsafety observer21b. Thecontroller21areceives data from thecomputer31 of thesurgeon console30 about the current position and/or orientation of thehandle controllers38aand38band the state of thefoot pedals36 and other buttons. Thecontroller21aprocesses these input positions to determine desired drive commands for each joint of therobotic arm40 and/or theIDU52 and communicates these to thecomputer41 of therobotic arm40. Thecontroller21aalso receives the actual joint angles measured by encoders of theactuators48aand48band uses this information to determine force feedback commands that are transmitted back to thecomputer31 of thesurgeon console30 to provide haptic feedback through thehandle controllers38aand38b. Thesafety observer21bperforms validity checks on the data going into and out of thecontroller21aand notifies a system fault handler if errors in the data transmission are detected to place thecomputer21 and/or the surgicalrobotic system10 into a safe state.
• Thecomputer41 includes a plurality of controllers, namely, amain cart controller41a, asetup arm controller41b, arobotic arm controller41c, and an instrument drive unit (IDU)controller41d. Themain cart controller41areceives and processes joint commands from thecontroller21aof thecomputer21 and communicates them to thesetup arm controller41b, therobotic arm controller41c, and theIDU controller41d. Themain cart controller41aalso manages instrument exchanges and the overall state of themobile cart60, therobotic arm40, and theIDU52. Themain cart controller41aalso communicates actual joint angles back to thecontroller21a.
• Each ofjoints63aand63band therotatable base64 of thesetup arm61 are passive joints (i.e., no actuators are present therein) allowing for manual adjustment thereof by a user. Thejoints63aand63band therotatable base64 include brakes that are disengaged by the user to configure thesetup arm61. Thesetup arm controller41bmonitors slippage of each ofjoints63aand63band therotatable base64 of thesetup arm61, when brakes are engaged or can be freely moved by the operator when brakes are disengaged, but do not impact controls of other joints. Therobotic arm controller41ccontrols each joint44aand44bof therobotic arm40 and calculates desired motor torques required for gravity compensation, friction compensation, and closed loop position control of therobotic arm40. Therobotic arm controller41ccalculates a movement command based on the calculated torque. The calculated motor commands are then communicated to one or more of theactuators48aand48bin therobotic arm40. The actual joint positions are then transmitted by theactuators48aand48bback to therobotic arm controller41c.
• TheIDU controller41dreceives desired joint angles for thesurgical instrument50, such as wrist and jaw angles, and computes desired currents for the motors in theIDU52. TheIDU controller41dcalculates actual angles based on the motor positions and transmits the actual angles back to themain cart controller41a.
• Therobotic arm40 is controlled in response to a pose of the handle controller controlling therobotic arm40, e.g., thehandle controller38a, which is transformed into a desired pose of therobotic arm40 through a hand eye transform function executed by thecontroller21a. The hand eye function, as well as other functions described herein, is/are embodied in software executable by thecontroller21aor any other suitable controller described herein. The pose of one of thehandle controllers38amay be embodied as a coordinate position and roll-pitch-yaw (RPY) orientation relative to a coordinate reference frame, which is fixed to thesurgeon console30. The desired pose of theinstrument50 is relative to a fixed frame on therobotic arm40. The pose of thehandle controller38ais then scaled by a scaling function executed by thecontroller21a. In embodiments, the coordinate position may be scaled down and the orientation may be scaled up by the scaling function. In addition, thecontroller21amay also execute a clutching function, which disengages thehandle controller38afrom therobotic arm40. In particular, thecontroller21astops transmitting movement commands from thehandle controller38ato therobotic arm40 if certain movement limits or other thresholds are exceeded and in essence acts like a virtual clutch mechanism, e.g., limits mechanical input from effecting mechanical output.
• The desired pose of therobotic arm40 is based on the pose of thehandle controller38aand is then passed by an inverse kinematics function executed by thecontroller21a. The inverse kinematics function calculates angles for thejoints44a,44b,44cof therobotic arm40 that achieve the scaled and adjusted pose input by thehandle controller38a. The calculated angles are then passed to therobotic arm controller41c, which includes a joint axis controller having a proportional-derivative (PD) controller, the friction estimator module, the gravity compensator module, and a two-sided saturation block, which is configured to limit the commanded torque of the motors of thejoints44a,44b,44c.
• With reference toFIG.5, the surgicalrobotic system10 is setup around a surgical table100. Thesystem10 includes a plurality ofmovable carts60a-d, which may be numbered “1” through “4.” During setup, each of thecarts60a-dare positioned around the surgical table100. Position and orientation of thecarts60a-ddepends on a plurality of factors, such as placement of a plurality ofports55a-d, which in turn, depends on the surgery being performed. Once the port placement is determined, theports55a-dare inserted into the patient, each of therobotic arms40a-dare aligned to achieve a desired configuration of each of their respective joints, andcarts60a-dare positioned to insertinstruments50 and theendoscopic camera51 into correspondingports55a-d.
• With reference toFIGS.6 and7, aprimary access port55ais inserted into a patient “P” atstep101. Theprimary access port55ais used insufflate the abdominal cavity “A” and to establish pneumoperitoneum. Theaccess port55aalso includes abeacon70 disposed on acannula57. Thebeacon70 may include a transceiver and a receiver configured to communicate via any suitable wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, WiFi, 5G, etc.)
• Thebeacon70 is activated and paired atstep102. Thebeacon70 may include one or moredeployable wings71 which are folded when thebeacon70 is in a deactivated state as shown inFIG.8 and fold out when thebeacon70 is an activated state as shown inFIG.9. Thewings71 are optional and activation status may be indicated in any suitable manner including but not limited to, LED disposed on thecannula57 or a hub of theaccess port55a. In embodiments, the indicator of the activation status may be indicated via a GUI displayed on any of thedisplays23,32,34.
• Thebeacon70 may be activated upon insertion of theendoscopic camera51 into theaccess port55a. Activation may be done in response by a mechanical or electrical engagement by insertion of theendoscopic camera51 through theaccess port55, e.g., contacting a limit switch, capacitive switch, or any other contact or proximity detection device. In further embodiments, thebeacon70 may be activated by thecontroller21ain response to detecting insertion of theendoscopic camera51, e.g., based on travel of theIDU52 along the slidingmechanism46a.
• During or after activation, thebeacon70 is also paired with thecontroller21avia a wireless transceiver (not shown) configured to wirelessly communicate with thebeacon70. Thecontroller21areceives wireless data from thebeacon70, including distance and direction information of thebeacon70 based on time of flight, angle of arrival, and other wireless signal parameters.
• With reference toFIGS.6 and10, atstep104, acamera feed80 of theendoscopic camera51 is shown in thefirst display32. Thecamera feed80 includes a field of view (FOV)81 as shown inFIG.7. Thesystem10 also displaysuser instructions82 to setup tracking and other messages. Thecamera feed80 anduser instructions82 may be displayed in any suitable manner, e.g., as overlays, different regions, and/or on any of the other displays of thesystem10, e.g., display23 of thecontrol tower20 and/or thesecond display34.
• In addition, at step106 agraphical representation90 of a surgical site is shown along with thecamera feed80 as shown inFIG.10. Thegraphical representation90 displays a three-dimensional (3D) (i.e., computer generated) model “M” of a surgical site, e.g., the abdominal cavity “AC”, along withmodels92 theendoscopic camera51 andinstruments50 that are inserted into the abdominal cavity “A.” Thegraphical representation90 may be generated by thecontroller21afrom a plurality of 3D models, which may be stored in a library and may be loaded based on the model or any other identifier of the surgical devices (i.e.,endoscopic camera51 and instruments50). The 3D model of the abdominal cavity “A” may be generated using machine learning image processing algorithms, e.g., using depth mapping techniques and textures extracted from thecamera feed80. Thegraphical representation90 may also have an adjustable viewpoint, which allows the user to move, pan, zoom, tilt, rotate, etc. In embodiments, the viewpoint may be adjusted automatically by thecontroller21abased on the task being performed by thesystem10, e.g., zoom in on an instrument being used, tissue being manipulated, etc.
• Once thecamera feed80 is established, thesystem10 is also configured to implement various surgeon aids and artificial intelligence augmentations atstep108. In embodiments, critical structures may be manually or automatically (i.e., using machine learning image processing techniques) identified and marked by thecontroller21aascritical zones83 to prevent operation of theinstruments50 on the critical structures. In addition, other areas may be demarcated by a user ascritical zones83 by drawing a virtual wall around any area at the surgical site. A virtual wall prevents thesystem10 from processing any user inputs that would result in movement or operation of theinstruments50 in those areas.
• After thefirst beacon70 is paired, the rest of theaccess ports55b-d(e.g., one or more) are inserted into the abdominal cavity “A” as shown inFIG.11. Atstep110, one or more of theaccess ports55b-dare inserted in the same manner as described above with respect to theprimary access port55a. Each of thesecondary access ports55b-dincludes abeacon70. Atstep112, each of theinstruments50 is inserted into thesecondary access port55b-dandcorresponding beacons70 are activated and paired in the same manner as described above.
• Atstep114, once all of theinstruments50 are inserted andcorresponding beacons70 are activated, position of thebeacons70 is determined. In particular, thebeacons70 are used to determine position of theendoscopic camera51 and theinstruments50 in 3D space. Three ormore beacons70 may be used to determine position of thebeacons70 using trilateration or triangulation based on time-of-flight and angle-of-arrival data from each of thebeacons70. In particular, each of thebeacons70 continuously communicate with each other. Triangulation may be used by thecontroller21ain situations where bearing of each of thebeacons70, i.e., angles therebetween, are known. Trilateration may be used when distances between each of thebeacons70 are known.
• Thebeacons70 are configured to measure time-of-flight of interrogation signals, which is used to determine the distance between thebeacons70. Each of thebeacons70 also measures angle-of-arrival of interrogation signals, which is used to determine the angles between thebeacons70. The distance and angles between thebeacons70 may be used by thecontroller21ato determine relative position of thebeacons70, which is equivalent to the position of theendoscopic camera51 and theinstruments50.
• Atstep116, thecamera feed80 and thegraphical representation90 are updated in real-time based on the position of thebeacons70. With reference toFIG.11, thegraphical representation90 moves themodels92 in response to movement of thebeacons70, which corresponds to movement of theendoscopic camera51 and theinstruments50. In embodiments, a secondgraphical representation95 may be displayed along with thegraphical representation90. The secondgraphical representation95 may represent a top-down map of the abdominal cavity “AC” withvarious symbols96, and/or descriptors representing the position of theendoscopic camera51 and theinstruments50.
• In embodiments, theFOV81 may be represented as acone93 in thegraphical representation90 or as acircle97 allowing for the user to see the location of theendoscopic camera51 and theinstruments50 even when they are outside theFOV81. Atstep118, thecontroller21ais also configured to automatically determine when theinstruments50 are outside theFOV81. Image processing algorithms may be used to analyze theFOV81 to detectinstruments50 that are present therein. In addition, presence of theinstruments50 may be determined based on thegraphical representations90 and95 and/or the calculations performed by thecontroller21aused to generate thegraphical representations90 and95. Thus, thecontroller21amay determine if themodels92 or thesymbols96 are located outside thecone93 or thecircle97, and if so, thecontroller21amay output an alert or a representation of direction and distance on thecamera feed80 as an overlay.
• It will be understood that various modifications may be made to the embodiments disclosed herein. In embodiments, the sensors may be disposed on any suitable portion of the robotic arm. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of various embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended thereto.

Claims (20)

What is claimed is:

1. A surgical robotic system comprising:

a first robotic arm configured to hold a camera access port and an endoscopic camera inserted therethrough;

a plurality of secondary robotic arms each of which is configured to hold an instrument access port of a plurality of instrument access ports and a surgical instrument of a plurality of surgical instruments, each of which is configured to be inserted into one instrument access port of the plurality of instrument access ports;

a plurality of beacons, one beacon of the plurality of beacons is disposed on the camera access port and one beacon of the remaining plurality of beacons is disposed on one instrument access port of the plurality of instrument access ports, each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to wirelessly communicate with each other; and

a controller configured to determine a position of the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments based on wireless communication between the beacons.

2. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 1, further comprising:

a display configured to show a graphical representation including the position of the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments.

3. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 2, wherein the graphical representation includes:

a three-dimensional model of a surgical site and models of the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments.

4. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 3, wherein the display is further configured to show a cone representing a field of view of the endoscopic camera.

5. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 2, wherein the graphical representation includes:

a two-dimensional map of a surgical site and symbols representing of the endoscopic camera and the plurality of surgical instruments.

6. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 5, wherein the display is further configured to show a circle representing a field of view of the endoscopic camera.

7. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 2, wherein the display is further configured to display video feed of a field of view of the endoscopic camera and a representation of at least one of direction or distance of a surgical instrument of the plurality of surgical instruments located outside the field of view.

8. A surgical robotic system comprising:

a plurality of access ports;

a plurality of surgical devices, each of which is configured to be inserted into one access port of the plurality of access ports;

a plurality of beacons, each of which is disposed on one access port of the plurality of access ports, each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to wirelessly communicate with each other; and

a controller configured to determine a position of each surgical device of the plurality of surgical devices based on wireless communication between the beacons.

9. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 8, further comprising:

a display configured to show a graphical representation including the position of each surgical device.

10. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 9, wherein the graphical representation includes:

a three-dimensional model of a surgical site and models of the plurality of surgical devices.

11. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 9, wherein the graphical representation includes:

a two-dimensional map of a surgical site and symbols representing of the plurality of surgical devices.

12. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 8, wherein the plurality of surgical devices includes at least one endoscopic camera.

13. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 8, wherein the plurality of surgical devices includes a plurality of surgical instruments.

14. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 8, wherein each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to obtain at least one parameter of the wireless communication.

15. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 14, wherein the parameter of the wireless communication includes at least one of time of flight or angle of arrival measurements.

16. The surgical robotic system according toclaim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to determine the position of each surgical device of the plurality of surgical devices using at least one trilateration or triangulation based on the parameter of the wireless communication.

17. A method for tacking position of surgical robotic instruments, the method comprising:

activating a plurality of beacons, each of which is disposed on one access port of a plurality of access ports, each beacon of the plurality of beacons is configured to wirelessly communicate with each other;

determining a position of each surgical device of a plurality of surgical devices each of which is inserted into one access port of the plurality of access ports based on wireless communication between the beacons; and

displaying a graphical representation including the position of each surgical device.

18. The method according toclaim 17, wherein displaying further includes displaying at least one of a three-dimensional model of a surgical site and models of the plurality of surgical devices or a two-dimensional map of a surgical site and symbols representing of the plurality of surgical devices.

19. The method according toclaim 18, further comprising:

measuring at least one parameter of the wireless communication at each beacon of the plurality of beacons, wherein the parameter of the wireless communication includes at least one of time of flight or angle of arrival measurements.

20. The method according toclaim 19, further comprising:

determining the position of each surgical device of the plurality of surgical devices using at least one trilateration or triangulation based on the parameter of the wireless communication.

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